Dangerous Pool Toys
May 23, 2007 by Kerri Aldrich
Filed under Children's Toys, News and Links about Children's Things
From the “what were they thinking?” files comes a story of the possible dangers of a pool toy like the one pictured at the left and other similar pool toys. Do you really need a study to realize that a toy for the pool that looks like it could trap your kids inside could possibly be dangerous? I’d think that was a no-brainer. Apparently, I’d be wrong.
News station KGO-TV/DT features a video wherein Good Housekeeping tested a few of these toys, including the Erupting Volcano Island, Cool Castle, and UFO Habitat (pictured above) to see what incidents kids might encounter while trying to use them.
Am I the only one who remembers a time when the pool was the toy? (Excuse me while I go get my geezer on…)
Thanks for participating in the Memorial Day Edition of the Carnival of Family Life. This is a wonderful contribution to the Carnival!
I’m in the geezer club with you. My idea of pool toys for my kids were floaties until I could trust them in the deep end and a $.99 rubber ball that they loved throwing back and forth.
Seriously,
What happened to diving for pennies and just swimming. Now we have to pay thousands of dollars, in addition to the cost of the pool, just so the kids can actually have fun in it!
I bet a pool costs less than running an air conditioner these days, but I haven’t done the math. Not that anyone else is doing any careful planning either. That toy makes me wonder what people are doing with their brains these days.
JHS: Thanks for hosting! Glad I’m not the only geezer.
Floaties from the dollar store works with my kids!
Kristen: Thanks for visiting.
Diving for pennies, playing Marco Polo or Sharks and Fish. I’m with ya! And, yes, actually swimming! Crazy how we could have fun just playing. 
Kate: I think they were abducted by the aliens.
The blow up toys are certainly the new rage. As far as carnival toys go I’d rather see them than what used to be the main attractions, but I don’t think our kids need them everywhere. In order for them to become a trapping device the toy would have to deflate immediately and all at once which I don’t think would be a possibility, but I still see your points and agree with common sense issues. As a pool owner I can say the most important issue of all is attentive parents regardless of what toys are or are not played with in the pool. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hugs,
Holly
Here via the Carnvial of Family Life.
Holly: Thanks so much for commenting and giving your input! I agree, the most important aspect is the parental supervision. I think the issues in the video were more about spots in the toys where legs could get caught, or parts that might collapse, both of which could cause anxiety in a pool situation. I think another big issue is that parents don’t read all of the “proper uses” and “suggested ages” parts of the instructions. Thanks, again, for your input!